


The Love Lesson

by mynameisnoneya



Series: The Crown of Love [3]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, And They Still Have Three Kids, Artists, But Now They Are Divorced, Date Night, Established Relationship, F/M, Family Drama, Implied Sexual Content, Jaime and Cersei Aren't Siblings, Living Together, Mild Language, Moving In Together, Post-Divorce, They were married, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-19 05:22:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13697727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mynameisnoneya/pseuds/mynameisnoneya
Summary: Sansa had known something was amiss the minute that she had set foot in the restaurant. Wait a second. Scratch that. Sansa had known something hinky was happening with Jaime since she had woken up all alone in his room late last night. And as her Valentine's Day date with Jaime is winding down to a close, she learns not only what has been on Jaime's mind, she also learns a thing or two about true love.





	The Love Lesson

**Author's Note:**

> This story was created as part of the "Jaimsa Week" prompt on Tumblr for Day #3: Valentine's Day.
> 
> In this story, Jaime has written a love poem for Sansa. Sorry if you dislike it, but yeah, I scraped something together. No hate, y'all. I never claimed to be the next Rosetti or Dickinson.
> 
> Please note that I made sure to tag any and all characters that appear in this work, whether they have a speaking role or not.
> 
> General disclaimer: GoT characters and quotes belong to GRMM - I own nor claim nothing!
> 
> If you enjoyed this work, please let me know by leaving comments and kudos!

 

Sansa had known something was amiss the minute that she had set foot in the restaurant.

Wait a second.  Scratch that.

Sansa had known something hinky was happening with Jaime since she’d woken up all alone in his room late last night.

After her brain had caught up to the fact that Jaime was shirking his duties as her personal heater, Sansa had stumbled out of his comfy king-side bed.  She’d stepped over her own discarded pile of clothing and headed straight for his armoire.  Smiling as she’d snagged one of his favorite t-shirts, the tired redhead tugged it over her naked form right before exiting his room and padding down the hallway to see where he was.

On her way to his studio to catch a peek at what project he he’d decided to work on at such an ungodly hour, Sansa noticed that the door to the patio was partially cracked opened.  Quietly, she made her way to the door, sliding it open as she’d peered outside.  There Jaime had sequestered himself, swaying gently in the porch swing while staring up into the starry sky.  In his lap was a worn-out blue notebook, a pen in his hand poised mid-air as it hovered above the lined paper.

Surprised though pleased to see her, Jaime had hurriedly slammed his notebook closed, scooting over on the swing to make room for her to sit next to him.  Curious as hell as to what he had been scribbling in his notebook, Sansa had asked him point-blank what he’d been writing.  Instead of telling her, Jaime just grinned that all-knowing grin of his which he fired off when he was about to say something witty, which of course, he did.

Then after breakfast in his eat-in kitchen, mere moments before they went their separate ways, Sansa, who had just complained how she hated leaving so early to go home to grab a shower and some fresh clothes before heading into work, was completely caught off guard and left utterly breathless when without warning, Jaime had snatched her into his long arms as she’d stood by the fridge.  Right there in his kitchen, he’d kissed her absolutely senseless, his strong hands seemingly everywhere at once, his murmurs of praise and adoration resounding in the room as he lowered her to the gray stone floor.

After they were spent, their legs like rubber and their lungs about to explode from the exertion, Sansa barely had the strength to ask him what on earth had gotten into him.  Silent for a time, Jaime’s expression morphed into something she couldn’t quite read before he gave her a brief, vague answer, something about how he hated that she had to go back home in the first place, too.  Yet there was something in the way that his jade-green eyes fixated on her in that moment which made her stomach flutter.  It felt like Jaime was on the brink of saying something important but was unsure if he should.

And now as Sansa sat in her chair directly across from Jaime at the candle-lit, two-seater table with here at The Red Keep tonight on Valentine’s Day, she finally had her answer.

“You want me to move in with you?”  Sansa blinked hard while trying to grasp his words.  It was like he’d spoken to her in a foreign language, and she was still waiting for her brain to translate the conversation.

“I do.”  Jaime cleared his throat as he fiddled with the fork resting on his dinner plate.

“Really?”

_Holyshitholyshitholyshit…_

“Really.”  Jaime smiled at her then, reaching across the table to take her shaking hand in his.  “I love you, Sansa.  You bring such joy into my life, I want to capture that joy each and every day.  You’d make me the happiest man alive if you would agree to come live with me.”

She hesitated, swallowing hard when he squeezed her hand affectionately.  “I. . .God, Jaime. . .”  

The smile on his handsome face faltered when his eyes darted across her face.  “Please, just think about it.  No need to answer tonight, alright?”

Her clear blue eyes lifted to meet his.  Shit.  He looked like someone had just punched him right in the gut.

Nervously, Sansa bit her lower lip.  This was such a ginormous step in their relationship.  Living together meant. . .well, that Jaime was committed to her.  He wanted her to be a part of his life.  This is exactly what she had wanted for so long, but now that the moment was here, she was locking up on him.  Why was she not jumping on top of the table and shouting for joy?

Probably because right here, right now, Sansa suddenly realized the new level of drama that they would face if she accepted his offer.

Jaime and her father were about the same age, a fact which didn’t sit too well with Ned Stark.  She could just see the look on her father’s face if she told him that she wanted to move in with Jaime.  And her mother. . .there’d be no help there, either.  Catelyn, though she played nice in the sandbox when Jaime was around, had made her opinion of Sansa’s boyfriend quite clear.  Her mom still couldn’t get past the fact that his oldest son, Joffrey, was the same age as Sansa.  And then Robb and Arya. . .well, fuck.  If Sansa thought their pithy comments about her choice of men were bad now, just wait until she was sleeping under the same roof as Jaime on a permanent basis.

And then there was Jaime’s family to contend with, too.  Joffrey had shot off like a firecracker three months ago when he’d come to Jaime’s house for dinner with Myrcella and Tommen, Jaime’s youngest son who was still in college.  Apparently _still_ not over the fact that Jaime had divorced his mother a decade ago, Joffrey had called Sansa virtually every imaginable derogatory name under the sun once Jaime had told his kids that he and Sansa were a couple.  Since then, Joffrey had refused to speak to Jaime and had been actively trying to turn his younger sister and brother against their father, an action no doubt encouraged by his manipulative mother.

Through the whole ordeal, Jaime had stood by Sansa, telling Joffrey to calm down or leave his house.  Not once had Jaime expressed any remorse for his choice, comforting Sansa when she became upset and felt horrible for causing a rift between him and his kids.  As always, Jaime took things in stride, reminding her that as long as she would have him, he would never, ever give her up willingly.

Damn it, she needed to speak.  She wanted this.  She wanted to move in with him.

It seemed like a no-brainer.

Why was she afraid?

“I have a little something for you,” Jaime said.  He released her hand and reached inside his dress jacket.  He laid a small red envelope on the table, sliding it across to her.

Sansa barely smiled as she took the card, opening it slowly, pulling out the folded piece of paper in her hands and laying the envelope on the table beside her now-empty desert plate.

“What’s this?”

“What you caught me doing last night.”  Slouching slightly in his seat, Jaime’s hand unconsciously clenched and unclenched in that adorable little way of his when he was nervous.

Unfolding the paper carefully, Sansa’s mouth parted, her astounded eyes scissoring across the words before her:

_There is such a love man cannot hide,_  
That comes but once to him in life.  
Real as the earth under his feet;  
Intangible as the heavens sweet.  
Doubts mingle with the joy and fear,  
Inside his heart she cannot hear.  
Only half himself outside her sight;  
Incomplete till fall of night.  
A holy resurrection of his soul;  
Given freely makes him whole.  
Then like a thief the dawn reveals,  
Emptiness only she can heal.  


“Oh, Jaime. . .”  Sansa’s words caught in her throat as the wetness pooled in the corners of her eyes.  He had written her poetry.  She had known all along that Jaime was a Renaissance Man, creative on so many levels.  Yet, he’d never actually shared any of his poetry with her.

Until tonight, that is.

Jaime smiled softly, brushing the few golden wayward strands which had fallen into his face.  “Happy Valentine’s Day, Sansa.  I hope you like it.”

“Like it?”  Sansa’s eyes darted between the poem and his curious face.  “I _love_ it.  I love, love, _love_ it.  I’m just. . .no one has ever written poetry for me before.”

“Then I will be sure to rectify that situation, love.”  He shot her a  playful wink.  “You deserve sonnets and soliloquies every day of your existence.”

Sansa was speechless.  Literally, without a shadow of a doubt, speechless.

What a fool she had been.  A silly, scared fool.

Jaime was the best thing that had ever happened to her.  She loved him, body and soul.

He treated her like an actual adult, a simple yet profound act which her own parents and siblings couldn’t seem to manage on any given day.  Jaime respected her career and praised her dedication to the museum, giving her advice only when asked and encouraging her decision to interview for the curator position next week, even though Sansa knew that she was probably considered too young and too inexperienced by the board of directors.  When she was irritated or angry at her family for making pithy comments about Jaime or their relationship, he’d always remind her how blessed she was to have parents who actually cared about her well-being, unlike his own father.

Jaime finally broke the silence between them.   “You ready to head home?”

Glancing around the crowded restaurant full of harried servers hustling to please their patrons, Sansa decided in that very instant she was through worrying about things beyond her control.  Because of Jaime’s unwavering devotion to her, she had learned a thing about love tonight.

“Yeah, I’m ready.”  Sansa grinned when she met his gaze, worrying her lower lip.  “I’m ready, Jaime.  I’m ready to go home _._ ”  As she quickly leaned forward, still clutching his poem in one hand while grasping his with her other, she boldly declared her decision.  “Take me to _our_ home.”

Jaime, whose blonde eyebrows raised almost to his hairline, grinned at her as she squeezed his hand.

“Home it is, then,” he nodded, lost in the depths of her gaze.

**Author's Note:**

> The title of this work was inspired by both the painting of the same name by Watteau as well as a photo of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau that I saw online. Once again, I hope you will agree that my love of art and my love of Nikolaj meshed together nicely in this tale!
> 
> [ **Nikolaj in the white shirt and suit** ](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/06/c3/c2/06c3c239e72af28afd266cdebacaff3e--nikolaj-coster-waldau-beautiful-smile.jpg)


End file.
